Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said on Thursday that there have been eight confirmed deaths stemming from the derailment of Amtrak Northeast Regional Train 188.
All 243 people (238 passengers and five crew members) from the train have been accounted, for and 43 are still being treated at hospitals, according to BuzzFeed News.
RELATED: Amtrak Crash Passenger Describes 'Mass Chaos,' 'Blood' and 'Shock' to HNGN
The engineer of the train, 32-year-old Brandon Bostian of Queens, N.Y., and the conductor, who still has not been identified, survived the crash. Bostian's attorney told ABC News that the engineer "suffered a concussion" and has "no explanation" as to why the train derailed. Directly after the crash, Bostian did not provide an official statement to police when they inquired.
According to Bostian's LinkedIn page, he began working at Amtrak as a passenger conductor in 2006. Four years later, he became a passenger engineer.
The train's speed may have played a part in the crash, CNN reports:
"Initial data show the train barreled into a curve at about 106 mph, National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said. That's more than twice the 50-mph speed limit for the curve, and above the 80-mph limit immediately before it."
Check below for other HNGN updates from the Amtrak crash, dating back to early Wednesday morning. Click here to read an exclusive HNGN interview with a survivor of the derailment.
Past update from Wednesday, May 13, 12:55 p.m. EDT:
Drone view of the #Amtrak188 scene. Nearly the entire train has been removed already. #AmtrakDerailment #Amtrak pic.twitter.com/TjtTc8dRx4
— Rocco Avallone (@RoccoAvallone) May 14, 2015
The death toll is now at seven, the Philadelphia Police Department tells NBC News. According to NBC News, hospitals treated more than 200 patients. Also, authorities have recovered the black box, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced.
Past update from Wednesday, May 13, 12:18 a.m. EDT:
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter confirmed at least five fatalities during a press conference late Tuesday night.
"It is an absolute disastrous mess," Nutter told reporters. "Never seen anything like this in my life."
Nutter declined to comment as to why the derailment occurred. The incident is considered level three due to the number of people involved. Six of the injured are in critical condition.
Past update from Wednesday, May 13, 12:09 a.m. EDT:
An Amtrak train derailed on Tuesday night. The train was headed from Washington D.C. to New York when it derailed around 9:45 p.m. EDT, according to The New York Times. There were five crew members and about 240 passengers on board, including former Representative Patrick Murphy who posted a photo on his Twitter account shortly after the crash.
(Photo : Twitter/Patrick Murphy)
Eight to ten train cars left the tracks and so far, the number of passengers injured is at 50, but that number may climb as the fire department and search and rescue go car-to-car, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.
Amtrak posted on Twitter that all services between New York and Philadelphia are cancelled. Amtrak also encouraged concerned family members of train 188 passengers to call Amtrak's Emergency Hotline at 800-523-9101.
